As anyone who has spent time in small water craft, and in particular canoes, will appreciate, these craft tend to be very unstable. This prevents serious safety hazards to the point of being life threatening should the craft capsize. Therefore, there is a need for some type of stabilizing means to be provided on canoes and other similarly tippy small water craft.
A number of prior art devices have been developed to overcome the problems described above. However, typically these prior art devices are relatively complicated and costly and are not easily removed for ease of transportation by car or pick-up truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,132,924 issued Mar. 23rd, 1915 to Gepack and U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,670 issued Feb. 22nd, 1921 to Kauffman, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,417 issued Nov. 3rd, 1970 to Beckner all describe stabilizing devices for use on small water craft. However, the devices in each of these patents are relatively cumbersome and require outward extensions to both sides of the craft adding to both the complexity and the cost of these devices and also making the craft awkward and dangerous to dock. Furthermore, the devices in each of these patents include a relatively permanent mounting which would not make them easily transportable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,813 issued Oct. 9th, 1973 to Holtz shows a unique outrigger concept using an inflatable canoe as well as an inflatable outrigger member each of which is again, provided with a permanent mounting arrangement for receiving a pair of supporting poles frictionally engaged between the canoe and the outrigger. The problem with this particular arrangement is that it is again extremely specific and not capable for use on other types of small boats other than that shown in the patent. Furthermore it provides little, if any, ballast for preventing tipping to the opposite side of the inflatable outrigger.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,277 issued as recently as Apr. 23rd, 1985 shows a new and improved design in clamp-on pontoons for use on a canoe. The pontoon arrangement in this patent is relatively portable however again this patent does require the use of two pontoons one to either side of the canoe each of which attaches only to that side of the canoe from which it extends requiring the other pontoon for stabilizing the load on the side walls of the canoe and preventing proper docking of the canoe.